But the Lions would surprise the Crimson by capturing eight of the next 10 points to win the first set.
In the second set, Harvard pulled out to a 7-5 lead on a block by junior Jennifer O'Shea and kills by senior Anderson, Burger and Schossberger. After Columbia rallied rallied to take a 10-8 lead, the Crimson bounced back to win seven of the next 10 points to tie the match at 1-1.
In the Columbia match, Schossberger had 15 kills, three blocks and two aces. Burger contributed 10 kills and an ace. Anderson added five kills and four blocks. Forman and freshman Christina Smith both added two aces. O'Shea also played tough at the net.
The third set, the Lions jumped out to a surprising 9-0 lead before the spikers scored six straight points. Leading the way for Harvard was Schossberger, who recorded four of those points with kills.
The fourth set was all Crimson, as the spikers grabbed an early 4-2 lead. After both teams traded sideouts, the Crimson rolled off 11 consecutive points to tie the match at 2-2.
In the fifth set, Columbia, looking for its biggest upset ever, took a 4-0 lead. The Lions fought off several Crimson surges to hold a 9-8 lead.
After Lee Polikoff recorded an ace to tie the game, the Crimson captured six of the next eight points to win the set and match.
Forman recorded two big kills, freshman Mari Rodriguez an ace and Anderson a dink shot to lead Harvard to victory.
In the first set of the Princeton match, the Tigers allowed the Crimson only one point. But in the second set, Harvard made the Tigers work for their win.
Harvard held a 9-6 advantage before Princeton rallied to pull out a victory.
In the third set, Harvard controlled the early part of the match, taking a 6-1 advantage. But the Tigers fought back to close the deficit to 10-6.
The spikers increased their lead to 14-8, but the squad could not put Princeton away. The Tigers rallied to win the next eight points to win the set and match.
"We're all a little disappointed about the way we played," Burger said. "We played better during the regular season than we did at the tournament. We have a few things to be proud of."